Strange Loop

Thrown for a Loop: A Carnival of Consciousness

A floating goddess spawning strange loops. A rowdy inquisitor speaking in antic paradox. A carnival hawker preaching the magical powers of abstraction. A sentient computer pushed to its logical limits. Drawing upon opera, circus, theater, and dance, this troupe, accompanied by brass band, video, and synthesized electronics, stumbles into the nature of mind, slides past the edge of science, and falls into the abyss of consciousness. Based on the work of eminent philosopher, author, and cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter, this multimedia performance explores the origins and nature of consciousness. All of the mind is a stage and we are merely players!

David Stutz

David Stutz has been a professional musician and theater person since boyhood. Despite this impediment, he managed to actively participate in the evolution of computer plumbing, working on a number of significant computer languages, programming models, and developer tools before retiring from the industry in 2003. He has continued writing and performing classical music and opera, as well as writing and producing experimental intermedia performance pieces, with a particular interest in human-computer interaction and the computer as dramatic character. For last year's Alan Turing centennial, David combined chant and experimental vocal music with electronic drones, field recordings, and the sound of looms, and percussion to create a ritualized performance and art installation to the memory of that great computer pioneer. Previous to that, David worked with Neal Stephenson on composing and producing a CD of music to accompany Stephenson's philosophical masterpiece of speculative fiction, "Anathem." David lives in Portland, performing electro-acoustic pieces based on field recordings, singing regularly with numerous Northwest ensembles, and tinkering with software language runtimes from time to time.